Lifestyle Photos at the Cabin

Despite the record-setting colds in Montreal, here I stand alive. Winter fought a valiant battle, but was ultimately no match for my wool socks, cozy sweaters, and kettle.
To enjoy the last few weeks of winter, we rented out Claudia’s parents’ cabin, located conveniently just an hour away from Montreal in Chertsey, Quebec. The cabin overlooks a frozen lake and sits by a forest covered in a knee-deep blanket of snow. Snowy evergreen forests are ridiculously photogenic with their muted tones. You can almost feel the stillness of the cold crisp air in photographs. After exploring the outdoors or skating on the frozen lake, we had a hot tub to thaw in, great food, and warm company. Can't wait until next time.

A few of these pictures have a lifestyle-vibe to them. I'd love to do more lifestyle photography. One of my biggest inspirations and my favourite photographer for a long time has been Nick Onken. You know that feeling when you've just discovered a small band that really resonates with you? And then they get bigger and bigger and you feel like you should receive some sort of compensation for being with them since the start? That's what I feel like with Nick. Before his podcast, before his appearances on podcasts, before he was mentioned by JoeyL on Creative Live, before his book, I found his work somehow.

His style has evolved over time, but his photography has always been consistently genuine and candid-looking. His pictures seem like they're taken from a regular day of hanging out with his friends. The models seem like they're actually having fun. There's a lot of lifestyle photography out there that looks extremely staged - it's probably the biggest challenge when shooting lifestyle pictures.

I've been thinking of ways to offer lifestyle photography as a service to regular people, rather than just advertising / commercial work. Imagine if you could just hang out with your friends somewhere in Montreal while a lifestyle photographer documents your day. I'd love to offer that service to people. And I'd love to have my own pictures like that. We often think of capturing romantic relationships (engagement shoots, weddings, couple photoshoots, etc.), but rarely do we spend the time and money to capture our friendships. Ok I know it sounds corny but it's true. I'll include more thoughts about this in a future blog post. Feel free to share your thoughts with me.